We talk about comics because we love comics.

Avengers

Avengers Infinity War Part 1 summary – Thanos had combined the Infinity Stones to make the Infinity Gauntlet and unleashed his sinister plan: wipe out half the population of the Universe.

This movie was really good.

Avengers Endgame – The movie starts out shortly after the events of Infinity War as Iron Man, Captain America and the other Avengers try to pick up the pieces of the biggest defeat they have ever encountered.

This movie was pretty good.

They try to right the wrongs that Thanos created but all their efforts lead to dead ends. Until Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man shows up with a plan so crazy it just might work!

***SPOILER ALERT!!***

Jon and I go over our thoughts on Avengers Endgame in the podcast. We don’t hold back so there are many spoilers in this review/critique of the movie. The ‘No Spoilers’ Embargo is over! We are giving everyone fair warning!

I can tell you that Jon and I both like this movie but it could have been better. We talk about plot points including a gigantic plot hole that really can’t be forgiven, but it’s not all bad though. This movie had several fun and exciting moments that make it worth recommending.

We also go over what we would have done differently to make this a better movie and what we are hoping for in future Avengers movie.

The movie is 3 hours long so we don’t cover absolutely everything that happens in this podcast. We stick to just the main story arc. There are still plenty of surprise for you in the movie.

Also, if you enjoyed this review, be sure the check out our take on Avengers Infinity War Part 1 which I am linking here:

We saw it a few weeks ago and decided to do a review of it this week. It is a continuation of the last Ant Man movie and references ties to Captain America: Civil War.

The Ant Man series (like the Guardians of the Galaxy Series) are more light hearted and funny movies than the other series and I enjoy that. Not every hero has to be grim and gritty. This movie continues with a mixture of levity and fast pace story telling.

The movie introduces a new character called Ghost. Ghost is more of an anti-hero in the film than a true villain or at least, a sympathetic villain. This is similar to how Ghost is portrayed in the comics and we go over that in the podcast.

We go over the movie with minor spoilers and give our verdict if you should go out and see it. We then get into so the Marvel Comics story lines it references and some of the Easter Eggs that we spotted.

We will be talking about the epic 16 part weekly Avengers storyline that begins with issue #675: No Surrender!

The story is so humongous in scope that it need 3 writers and 3 artist to tell it:

Writers: Mark Waid, Al Ewing and Jim Zub

Artists: Pepe Larraz, Paco Medina and Kim Jacinto

The only issues available so far are part 1 (675) and part 2 (676). We decided we wanted to get on this early so you don’t miss the boat on this story.

Jon has never been an Avengers fan so this is his first dip into their universe. In issue 675, we are introduced to Valerie Vector AKA Voyager…

You remember Valerie Vector! She was one of the founding members of the Avengers!! What do you mean you don’t remember her? Well, that is because she was just created this year and retconned (we explain what this term means in the podcast) into the Marvel Universe. This threw Jon for a loop because he thought she really was an older character. Besides introducing a golden age character we never met before, you also find out that the Earth has been stolen and it’s up to the Avengers to figure out who did it.

This is a great starting point for those that have never read this title and, with only 2 issues out, it seems that it will be a ripping yarn.

Here is a quick reference guide to the different Avengers teams that exist today:

Listen to the podcast and if you find it entertaining, then go out and pick up all 16 issues of the Avengers: No Surrender.

Welcome back to the podcast. We are doing a new comic review this week. We haven’t done one of these in a while and a few new books have come out. You know the drill: we read them, we review them and you either buy them or give a pass.

Marvel and DC crossover comic events are very rare nowadays but that was not always the case. In fact, 20 years ago was one of the best Marvel/DC comic events that ever happened and it was called the Amalgam Universe!

These Amalgam comics were the result of a battle between the Marvel and DC universes…

The champions fought each other in a limited series called DC Versus Marvel (or Marvel Versus DC depending on which issue you were buying). The heroes battles each other and it caused such a mess that is smashed the 2 universes together in 1 amalgamated universe.

Jon and I reflect back on the events that lead up to the Amalgam Comics to be published. This will be a 2 part podcast so tune in next week for part 2.

I have included the time code for each review, in case you want to jump ahead to that point but I recommend listening to the entire podcast for all the humor and political references.

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS*

We do revel some plot points in all the comics (not all the surprises but most). The surprise twist to Captain America was spoiled for me prior to reading it (Thanks, Internet!) but I also have to reveal it in order to give my take on “Why Captain America says what he says at the end of the comic” so don’t say we did not warn you!!

We like video games. So much so that Jon and I attended PAX East this year and saw a lot of great games that will be coming out through 2016. This got me thinking that there are many video games that feature superheroes and this would make for a good podcast.

We start off the show talking about the classic Konami arcade game – X-men: Children of the Atom. This was a standard ‘Beat’em Up‘ that features X-men characters beating up on well know villains like Juggernaut, The Toad and Magneto. What was unique about this game is that a special cabinet was made that allowed 6 people to play at once. Here is a pic of how it looked:

This is one of the first (if not only) arcade that allows 6 people to play at once. I had a great time playing this one back in the day.

WE spend some time going over the other great arcade games and eventually move on to some awesome console games like: Ultimate Spider-man, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and X-men Legends.

These games are great because they all have fantastic stories with dozens of Marvel characters (both heroes and villains). The more we talked about them, the more I want to go back and play the games.

We end the podcast talking about the greatest superhero video series: Batman – Arkham Series: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins and Arkham Knight. This series is the pinnacle of how all video games featuring heroes should be made.

Also, we are celebrating out 1 year anniversary of Comics Misremembered this month so thanks for listening and looking forward to another year of making podcasts!

This week is something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. The Old is that we are reviewing Marvel’s 2007 Civil War miniseries. The New is the brand new Marvel’s Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill comic that came out. The Borrowed is that Standoff will lead into Civil War II which is a retread of Civil War. Finally, The Blue is the blue curtain that holds back the new DC Comics Rebirth and it is not going to be fun.

Part 1: Civil War

Jon and I go over the 2007 Civil War miniseries – How a group of careless heroes’ prime time TV adventure leads to one of the biggest atrocities in the Marvel universe. This event triggers government action and starts the Super Hero Registration Act. Heroes choose sides: to register and work for the government or rebel and protect your own free liberties. It is a great story and we are looking forward to the movie.

Then we move on to Part 2…

Avengers: Standoff – Welcome to Pleasant Hill.

We both liked this stand alone comic and the surprises that it holds so instead of spoiling any of the stories, Jon and I talk about 2 TV shows that are similar in concept and theme to the comic.

Finally, we move on to part 3…

DC’s Rebirth– We dislike Rebirth. I mean, we really, really don’t like this. This project is so unnecessary and we both feel DC will turn off many long time fans of their comics. This will be the beginning of Reboot Blow Back. This is bad for comics and we explain why.

The final part in our John Byrne Trilogy – The Week 15 podcast part 3.

In this podcast, Jon and myself talk about Byrne’s work in the late 80’s into the 90’s.

Superman: Man of Steel – This was Byrne’s 1989 reboot of the Superman franchise. Jon and myself don’t really care for Superman so we both have not read it but we go over a couple of facts I found on the internet.

After a few years with DC, Byrne comes back to Marvel and takes over West Coast Avengers. The first change he makes is to call it Avengers West Coast and then goes no to write and draw on of the most epic Vision stories titled Vision Quest. We talk about the bizarre love triangle (apologies to New Order) between Vision, The Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man. Jon gives the best line in this discussion “Kids, practice safe hex.” This will one day become a T-Shirt. Bryne is also responsible for the creation of a 3rd Avengers team called The Great Lake Avengers.

We end this discussion with John Byrne’s independent work with Dark Horse. He creates John Byrne’s Next Men. I go over how this project was almost a DC then a Marvel property but it ultimately goes to Dark Horse.

If you want to see some of John Byrne’s excellent pencils and inks then check out this tumblr account – John Byrne Draws. It is not run by John Byrne:

Pssst! Hey, buddy! Did you know there is a war going on? Also, that this war is hush-hush therefore very secret? Well, now we let the cat of the bag and you know all about it!

That’s right – Marvel, the comic company that is terrible at keeping secrets has released their 2015 Secret War!! The main Secret War is great but there are like 763* Secret War Tie-In books. You don’t have the time or money to buy and read all those books so what are you going to do? Well, fret not, True Believer! Jim and Jon have done all the heavy lifting for you and have whittled down the tie-ins to 6 core books that are definitely worth reading.

Listen to the Comics Misremembered Week 12 podcast for all the low down on these books then run to your local comic shop (or download on your wireless device).

Marvel will be relaunching their Universe once again this October and they have given everyone a sneak peek at the new titles and creative teams.

Jon and I go through the free previews guide and discuss what we know of the new writer and artist on each book and then if we plan on either buying it, testing it out for a few issues or skipping the book altogether or has we call it: Buy, Try or Deny!

I noticed that some books were missing this time around like Punisher, Black Widow, Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Also, some writers are gone like Rick Remender and Jonathan Hickman, who has written the Avengers these last few years and the architect of the new Secret Wars series. These changes don’t bode well with me.

I hope our wisdom and witty banter helps you make an informed decision on if you want to spend your hard earned dollars on any of these new books.

As always, we appreciate your feedback – What do you have to say about the new books? Any ones that are a definite buy? Any ones to avoid like the plague?

If you are a Marvel fan, by now you have read or heard that Marvel will be restarting (otherwise known as Retconning) their Universe at the end of Secret Wars.

Jon and I will be previewing the new titles and creative teams in this week’s podcast but my question to you is:

“Is Retconning the Marvel Universe necessary?”

Here is what I think. Marvel is first and foremost a business and as a business, you need to improve sales year over year to show that you are profitable to your shareholders. If you do not hit these profit marks, then you have to try something different to get those customers back.

Marvel followed this formula with Marvel Now! back in 2012. This plan of action cancelled all the existing Marvel books and relaunched them with new creative teams and reformation of books like the Avengers and Uncanny X-men. For the most part, I liked the changes. I enjoyed the new creative teams’ takes on existing characters and there were some very good stories that came out of this change.

Now it is 2015 and Marvel is following the playbook again by cancelling all the books, reforming the comics teams and telling new stories with brand new creative teams. I understand why Marvel is doing this; new and old readers alike start on the ground floor with teams that are familiar but also fresh. I am looking forward to trying these new books but at the same time, I am like “When will this universe be destroyed and retconned again?”

Is there such thing as burn out from all these retcons? If you are a longtime DC reader, you know the pain of which I speak. You have seen your DC universe destroyed and rebuild some many times over that you have a hard time remembering which universe are you reading (Is the Crime Syndicate from World 2 or World 3 in this reboot?)

I guess the point I am getting at is that companies like Marvel and DC are more focused on the ‘bottom line’ that they are willing to sacrifice their character’s legacy. I feel that rebooting universe will lead to lazy story telling. In the past if you wanted to modernize a universe, you had keep the 30 – 50 years of history. That took some really creative story telling to build a bridge from the past to the future. Now, all you have to do is destroy that history and start anew. Where is the fun in that? It just doesn’t seem right. Are we all getting ret’conned’ with this new universe?

Jon and I review the humble and meager beginnings for Marvel and DC heroes on TV with shows like Batman (1966), Wonder Woman and the Incredible Hulk to the mega franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We described how the medium has changed from sophomoric stories for the sole purpose of commercialization to sophisticated, well crafted epic dramas (and some commercialization). We will review the highlights and pitfalls of Marvel and DC through the years and let you know which movie and TVs shows are worth your time (Tip: Avoid any movies that have the words “Superman” and “Returns” in the title).

We had fun putting this together so we hope you have as much fun listening to it.

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Here at Comics Misremembered Podcast, we like to uncover hidden comics, movies, shows, etc. that you may not have heard about but are definitely worth your time. This week, we are talking about the super hero movie called Super. It was an independent movie that was written and directed by James Gunn (Guardians of the … Continue reading CM Podcast 225 – Super […]

Time Warner has a cool app called DC Universe that carries all the DC Heroes animated shows like Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League Unlimited, and more. It also has new and exclusive live action hero shows like Titans, Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing. Jon and I recently subscribed to the DC Universe app to … Continue reading CM Podcast 224 – Swamp Thing Sh […]

We like to do new comics reviews every once in a while because there are always new series coming out that need attention. We like to let our listeners know about new writers and artists out there that are putting out some high quality comics! This week we are reviewing 4 new comics series that … Continue reading CM Podcast 223 – New Comics Review

Back in 1990, DC editors allowed Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez to use some of their beloved 1950 and 1960s Sci-Fi characters to be used in a very mature and violent miniseries. Twilight is quite an oddity. DC only has a few comics that were released dealing with mature themes up to this point … Continue reading CM Podcast 222 – Twilight

Jon and I normally will go to the Boston Comic Con (now called the Fan Expo Boston) and that is being held this weekend (8/16 – 8/18) but we will not be attending this year. :0 The reason we are not going is nothing that Fan Expo Boston did; they have always put together a … Continue reading CM Podcast 221 – TerrifiCon 2019

The X-Men soft rebooted again last week (is this like the 4th one so far? I lost count) but I ain’t even mad at you, Marvel for doing it. I was really enjoying the last incarnation of the Uncanny X-Men that started up last year and then I heard that they were going to stop … Continue reading CM Podcast 220 – House Of X and Power Of X

At this time each year, there is the San Diego Comic Con – one of the oldest, largest comic cons. At this comic con, writers and artists get together to celebrate their peers with the Eisner Awards. We like to cover the nominees to find out about stories that we may have missed during the … Continue reading CM Podcast 219 – 2019 Eisner Awards Nominees and Wi […]

Last week, we reviewed the 1st story arc to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic: The Boys. This week we are reviewing the Amazon Prime version of the TV Show that launched on 7/26/19. The first season is 8 episodes long and we are talking about the first 3 episodes because that is all that … Continue reading CM Podcast 218 – The Boys (TV Show 2019) […]

Hello again and welcome back to Comics Misremembered. In this week’s podcast, we focus on The Boys. This comics was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson. It originally came out in 2006 under the Wildstorm Imprint – this was Jim Lee’s imprint that was published through DC. The Boys put out 6 … Continue reading CM Podcast 217 – The Boys (C […]

Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2nd Spider-Man movie came out July 2nd 2019 and it is titled: Spider-Man: Far From Home We went and saw it last Sunday. I was very excited for this movie because the previews had Jake Gyllenhaal playing Mysterio, a long time villain in the Spider-Man comics. This is the first time he … Continue reading CM Podcast 216 – Spider-Man: […]